bilateral ties with the obama administration are stronger than ever. when obama visited south korea to attend the g-20 summit last november, he described the relationship between the two countries as an unbreakable alliance. >> now comes north korea. what about the relationship with the north? i mean lee changes country's stance from conciliatory to hard line policy. how has that affected their relations? >> well, the relations are extremely tense following a series of provocations by the north. the sinking of our south korean warship in the yellow sea and the attack on yeonpyeong island. south koreans. two civilians died after yeonpyeong was shelled. that hasn't happened since the korean war. lee initially faced criticism that his hard line policy had provoked the hostilities, but now public opinion is split between those who want dialogue with north korea and those who support a tough approach. >> right. with that background, do you -- how do you think he will deal with the north during his remaining two years in office? >> well, his task is to inclu